Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $50.34 and traded as high as $51.56. Northwest Natural Gas shares last traded at $51.4750, with a volume of 164,209 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NWN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research note on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $58.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Northwest Natural Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Northwest Natural Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northwest Natural Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Northwest Natural Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $490.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.57 million. Northwest Natural Gas had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Northwest Natural Gas Company will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Northwest Natural Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.4925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Northwest Natural Gas’s payout ratio is 67.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northwest Natural Gas

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northwest Natural Gas by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 104.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 197.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Natural Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Northwest Natural Gas by 375.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.13% of the company’s stock.

Northwest Natural Gas Company Profile

Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE: NWN), commonly known as NW Natural, is a publicly traded energy utility primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company operates an extensive pipeline network spanning thousands of miles across Oregon and southwest Washington. Its core business activities include gas procurement, system operation and maintenance, safety inspections and customer service support.

Dating back to the mid-19th century, Northwest Natural traces its origins to the Portland Gas Light Company, which first illuminated Portland streets with manufactured gas in 1859.